


Short shots

by Ellizia



Series: Modern Westeros [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Family Drama, Fluff, Friendship, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 19:06:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18817150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellizia/pseuds/Ellizia
Summary: Short shots set in the Modern Westeros universe.





	Short shots

**Author's Note:**

> These are mostly unedited ideas that I've written down while procrastinating on my actual fics. As I said these are un-betad, unedited and English isn't my first language so there might be some weird things. I'd love it if you told me if there is some glaring typo.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking a seven-year-old to a supermarket is a bad idea even on a good day and said child is mostly calm and obedient. None of these things applied to the situation at hand.  
> (Stannis loses his little brother while grocery shopping and somehow ends up making a friend over the terrible supermarket tie selection.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is lightly inspired by SearchinForSerendipity’s Onion knight for sale in the vegetables aisle - https://archiveofourown.org/works/4542042
> 
> at the time of this Renly is 7, Stannis 20 and Davos 24

Taking a seven-year-old to a supermarket is a bad idea even on a good day and said child is mostly calm and obedient. None of these things applied to the situation at hand. Stannis had had a long and difficult day and he could feel the headache that had been slowly but surely creeping up on him the whole day dig its claws deeper. And his little brother really wasn’t making the situation any easier.

“Renly! Come back here this instant!” Where in seven hells had that kid run of to? He’d been impossible in the last few days. Stannis was absolutely certain that this, like most problems in his life, could be somehow blamed on Robert. His older brother spent a mere one week at home before returning to King’s Landing and somehow had managed to leave the house in complete disarray. And of course it was Penrose’s biannual vacation time. Robert had left the cupboards empty and Renly’s respect for Stannis in ruins. Getting Renly to eat healthy food was near impossible and bedtime was just a nightmare. That happened every time Robert came to visit. Renly worshipped their older brother and during the week Robert had allowed Renly to do pretty much what he wanted. And there was nothing Stannis could do about that. _Don’t be such a stick in mud, Stannis. Relax a little, Stannis. Try having some fun for once._ Robert’s voice echoed in his ears. Easy for him to say. Robert wasn’t the one living with Renly, trying to raise him to be at least a decent person. Sure, they had Penrose but Stannis wasn’t about to just leave the responsibility of raising his brother on someone else.

“Renly!” He couldn’t very well just let him wonder around the shop alone, no matter how much easier it would be. This trip had just gotten a lot lengthier than Stannis had hoped. He’d have to find his brother before he could even dream about finding food for the next week. He rubbed his temples, trying in vain to quell the bounding he could feel making itself at home there. Had Stannis been the kind of person to curse aloud in public, now would have been the time. But he wasn’t so he just ground his teeth together. Why couldn’t Renly just be a normal kid, scared of being lost in a supermarket? But no, of course not. His brother would love nothing more than a free reign to run around, satisfying his endless curiosity.

***

After combing through the whole building, Stannis finally found Renly in the menswear department of all places, happily chattering to a complete stranger. An adult, male stranger. Stannis’ headache throbbed. Had Renly somehow managed to miss all those lectures about not talking to strangers? Not that the man looked particularly threatening. He looked maybe a little older than Robert, though his face was weathered and his jaw covered with dark stubble so it was hard to tell. He wore old, worn down clothing, fit for outdoors. But whether the man seemed threatening or not wasn’t the point.

“Renly! How many times have I told you not to wander off on your own?” Stannis demanded, voice sharp. Renly looked up, all wide, innocent eyes.

“But I couldn’t let Davos by that terrible tie. It was so horrible. It would have been cruel to let anyone wear it.” Renly’s voice sounded sincerely upset. Of course his brother would be more upset about an ugly tie than being lost. Or not really lost, Renly had wandered off alone on purpose and was exactly where he wanted to be. Stannis grabbed his brother’s hand firmly, to stop him from disappearing again.

“That’s not the point, Renly.” Stannis tried to resist the urge to grind his teeth together. His dentist had warned him against it. “You can’t just go running off on your own. It’s not safe.” Stannis turned towards the stranger:

“I apologise for my little brother. He has a bad habit of putting his nose where it doesn’t belong.” Renly tried to protest but Stannis silenced him with one stern look. “And thank you for looking after him, Mister..?” Stannis trailed of. The least he could do was be polite.

“Seaworth. Davos Seaworth.” The man thrust his hand forward. Stannis shook it and, since he now knew the man’s name, introduced himself too:

“Stannis Baratheon. And this is my younger brother, Renly.” Slight widening of eyes was only indication that the man recognised their name. Stannis looked down at Renly. “Who is going to apologise for bothering you.”

“Oh no, he wasn’t bothering me. I mean, of course he shouldn’t have run away, I’m sure you were really worried but I really don’t know anything about fancy clothes and my wife insisted that I buy at least a new tie for our son’s naming.” The man, Seaworth, explained jovially. He raised the tie in question up and it really was terrible. Even Stannis, who really wasn’t that big on clothes, could see that. The tie was muddy brown in colour with garish orange geometrical pattern. And who would by a tie from supermarket’s selection? But, on the other hand, his clothing indicated he really wasn’t swimming in money. Stannis debated for a moment whether to say anything. Penrose was always saying he should be more social and talk to people more.

“I wouldn’t buy that if I were you,” Stannis said bluntly. It was the best he could do, considering there wasn’t one good thing he could say about the tie.

“That’s what your brother said too. Not in those word’s exactly, but the point was the same.” Seaworth smiled. How could the man be so infuriatingly good-natured? “It was the cheapest option, so there’s that.” Stannis grimaced at the statement. That wasn’t surprising. He wouldn’t have taken the tie even for free. Apparently Seaworth noticed his expression as the other man laughed softly and asked:

“What would you recommend then? If not that one.”

“It isn’t really my place to say, Mr. Seaworth,” said Stannis trying to find some way of leaving that wouldn’t be too rude.

“Well, I asked you voluntarily and I would be very grateful if you could offer your opinion, seeing as you are clearly a lot better dressed than I am. And please, call me Davos! Mr. Seaworth makes me feel really old.” Seaworth, Davos, said with a self-deprecating smile.

Renly, who had been unusually quiet up until this point, piped up: “Davos should wear green. Like that.” Renly pointed at a bright green tie with subtle darker green stripes. Of course, Renly was obsessed with all things green. Stannis ground his teeth together.

“This one?” Davos took the tie from the shelf. “It’s quite bright, isn’t it?” He raised his eyebrows at Stannis. “Yes, it is.” Stannis sighted. “Not very practical. If you don’t want to buy many ties, you should choose something that can be used anywhere and with almost anything, like that.” The tie I question was dark charcoal grey with silvery pattern. Surprisingly nice for a supermarket quality tie. Renly pouted. Stannis’ headache that had seemed to momentarily cease its hold was coming back with a vengeance. Why was he still here, talking about ties with complete stranger? _You need friends, Stannis._ Penrose, of course.

Davos looked at Renly’s crestfallen expression while comparing the two ties. The man seemed to come to some kind of decision. He put the sensible grey tie back to the self and turned towards Renly.

“You know what? I think I’ll take the green one. Marya, my wife, always says I should wear more colour.” He smiled at Renly, who looked elated. Then he looked up at Stannis, smiling. “We all could use some more colour in our lives.” Davos smiled. And maybe Stannis’ headache momentarily lessened its hold. (That, of course, wouldn’t last long when he still had all the shopping to do with Renly. But for a while it didn’t feel so bad.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow Davos ends up babysitting Renly and Stannis (reluctantly) gains a friend. But I’ll (most probably) leave that story for your imagination


End file.
